Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson finished his rookie season with another 100-yard game.
The second-round pick caught five passes for 104 yards and ran twice for 12 yards during the Packers’ 20-16 loss to the Detroit Lions in the regular season finale on Sunday night.
Of Watson’s seven touches, five created first downs. Two of his touches directly contributed to points: He hauled in a 45-yard contested catch to get the Packers on the move on the team’s only touchdown drive, and his 27-yard catch led to a Mason Crosby field goal.
The performance represented a strong finish for a rookie who emerged as a legitimate playmaker over the second half of the 2022 season.
From Week 10 on, Watson caught 31 passes for 523 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed four times for 61 yards and another score. While touchdowns are often variable, the rest of his numbers over the eight-game span when extrapolated over 17 games equate to 66 catches for 1,111 yards and 130 rushing yards.
Packers quarterbacks had a passer rating of 121.5 when targeting Watson during the 2022 season.
Watson finished with eight catches of at least 20 yards and three over 40, including two touchdowns of 50 or more yards.
Among rookies in Packers history, Watson finished eighth in catches (41), seventh in receiving yards (611) and third in touchdown catches (7).
Christian Watson vs. Davante Adams as rookies
| Watson, 2022 | Adams, 2014 | |
| Games | 14 | 16 |
| Snaps | 507 | 738 |
| Targets | 66 | 66 |
| Receptions | 41 | 38 |
| Receiving yards | 611 | 446 |
| Receiving TDs | 7 | 3 |
| Total TDs | 9 | 3 |
| Passer rating targeted | 121.5 | 87.5 |
| Yards/catch | 14.9 | 11.7 |
| Yards/target | 9.3 | 6.8 |
| Catch% | 62.1 | 57.6 |
| First downs | 28 | 23 |
